


Trial and Error

by GalileoSunshine



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Confessions, F/F, High School, High School AU, Love Confessions, Nerd/Jock AU, and Kanan being a bit dense, just Dia being a useless lesbian, nerd/jock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-28 11:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14448714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalileoSunshine/pseuds/GalileoSunshine
Summary: Being the brightest student at school doesn't mean one is an expert when it comes to matters of love. And if there's one subject that Dia has trouble with, it's how to confess to a certain swim jock, Kanan Matsuura. A take on jhaskii's nerd/jock AU.





	Trial and Error

**Author's Note:**

  * For [archived](https://archiveofourown.org/users/archived/gifts).



> Check out Jhaskii's AU [here](https://jhaskii.tumblr.com/post/171581151710/)!

Dia closed her locker and hugged her textbooks closer to her chest for comfort, taking a deep breath. _I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it..._ she repeated over and over in her head, like how she recited algebra formulas, hoping that by doing so she'd somehow just will it to have already happened.

"You're not going to do it," Mari said, sneaking up on Dia from behind and whispering into Dia's ear. Dia whipped around in surprise and backed into her locker with a loud clatter.

"Don't do that!" she cried out, while holding her ear. "And what are you talking about? Do what?" 

"Duh, ask Kanan-san out?" Mari said with her one raised eyebrow and cat-like smirk that aggravated Dia to no end.

"How did you know I was planning that?"

Mari waved her hand dismissively in the air. "Please. Dia sighing forlornly by her locker, hugging her textbooks, obviously psyching herself up for something? And who has been on Dia's mind more than anything the last couple weeks? Kanan Matsuuuraa~"

"Shut! Up!" Dia hissed, and gave Mari the evil eye. She hastily looked about to make sure no one had heard the last bit about Kanan.

"What? It's true!" Mari retorted, not in the slightest intimidated by Dia's glare. 

"Ugh, fine, yes I was planning on asking her out," Dia admitted. Nothing came out of denying it anyways, she only hated how easily Mari was able to read her. "But just so you know, I'm actually going to do it this time! Properly!"

"Hmm, I dunno," Mari said matter of factly, crossing her arms in smug confidence. "Just going by the past attempts you told me about..."

"This time is different!" Dia exclaimed. She had rehearsed this time....was what she wanted to say, but Dia did not want to give Mari that kind of ammunition against her. 

"You said that last time too," Mari said and smirked. "But every time you even so much as look in Kanan-san's direction you melt and get all starry-eyed and stutter and it's sooo cute!"

"T-t-t-that's not true!" Dia's face turned crimson red as she tried to deny it, but her words came out stumbling over each other, which only proved Mari's point. This was just great, she didn't even have to look at Kanan now, to make her trip over herself. Only thinking about her was enough to make Dia's brain stop working. Dia heaved a sigh of exasperation as Mari looked down on her with a self-satisfied smirk.

"What is it about Kanan-san you like anyways?" Mari continued. "I didn't think that you, Dia of all people, would fall for some airheaded jock." When Dia didn't respond, Mari raised an eye again. "Or is that actually your type? Ohh, is it her muscles? Is it that cocky smirk she has, or when she puts her hands behind her head? Do you like the way the water drips and glistens off her body after swimming? Do you..."

Dia didn't say anything back. At times like this, it was best to just ignore Mari's goading. She had a way of twisting anything Dia said into something to tease her about, and so Dia learned to just let Mari talk herself out. Besides, she had better things to pay attention to. Dia was keeping a careful watch on the end of the hallway, the one she knew that Kanan and her group of swim club members would be rounding the corner of any moment, on their way to practice. She had timed their daily route to take about 7 minutes on average.

And right on cue, Dia heard Kanan and her squad's boisterous laughter as they became visible around the corner. And Mari was still rambling as they came.

"Shhhhh, they're coming!" Dia hissed again at Mari, and waved a hand frantically in front of her face to make sure she was silenced. 

Mari blinked in surprise. "Ohohoo, you knew they were coming? You timed it didn't you! Meticulous as ever, Dia. And might I say...a bit obsessive."

"Not now, and I said shush!" Dia said, ducking her head. "Don't look at them, they'll notice us conspiring!"

"You're the only one conspiring," Mari said. She took a long glance at the swim club members despite Dia's plea. Most of them were joking and laughing as they walked, with their heads tossed up in the air, and playfully punching each other in the shoulders, and just generally being boisterous. Although their group was only made up of five or so people, the amount of movement they made gave them a presence that filled the hallway, that made others hug closer to the walls or their lockers as they passed by.

Kanan however, was slightly different. She laughed and joked along, but she wasn't nearly as energetic as the others. Something about her gaze was softer, more attentive of her surroundings. She hung near the back of the group, as though she were watching them over. Kanan's dissimilarity with the rest of her group was made even clearer when one of the swim team member's duffel bags bumped another girl's arm, causing her to drop a pile of books that scattered on the ground. The girl gave a little distressed wail. 

The swim member at fault said a quick sorry before quickly moving on, but Kanan stopped to help pick up the poor girl's books. She then gave her a squeeze on the shoulder, a sheepish smile and what looked like another apology on behalf of her other member, and then ran to catch up with the rest of her group.

The other girl stared after Kanan with a dreamy look and a tint of red dusting her cheeks. 

 _Maybe I_ can  _see why Dia likes her_ , Mari mused. Even she was a bit charmed by that little act of kindness. _Perhaps something similar happened to Dia too._ The corners of Mari's mouth tugged upwards into a knowing smile. 

Mari gave Dia an affectionate squeeze on her arm. "Y'know, I think I'll leave you be now. Good luck with your confession! I know you can do it!" Mari gave her an encouraging hug, much to Dia's surprise, then left without another word.

Dia blushed, disarmed by Mari's sudden change of attitude. It always caught her off guard when Mari showed her that she really did care about her. But, putting Mari out of her mind for now, Dia focused on straightening her hair, fixing her clothes, and steadying her breathing. With a final breath, Dia turned and started making her way slowly towards Kanan's group.

As she walked, Dia tried to focus on her upcoming confession. It was a straightforward and simple one. " _Kanan Matsuura, I like you. Will you go out with me?_ " She had rehearsed that line, over and over in front of the mirror at home, perfecting her tone and her cadence and telling herself it'd all go well as long as she didn't get too nervous. And really, Dia was actually alright with Kanan rejecting her. After all, what jock would want anything to do with a bookish, know-it-all like her anyways?

She just didn't want to make a fool of herself, like her previous attempts.   
  
What Dia told Mari about her past attempts was that she didn't manage to _confess_ , but it wasn't as though she couldn't talk to Kanan at all. She was able to talk to Kanan. They only ended in disaster because of her injudicious choice of words.   
  
" _Wouldyouliketostudytogethersometime?_ " Dia stammerd out in a rush on her first attempt, her face beet red and her eyes looking at the ground and her books hugged tight against her to stop herself from trembling.  
  
"Uhh, wha-?" Kanan replied, and scratched her head, obviously confused by the sudden invitation to study by someone she barely knew.   
  
"Hey, that's Dia Kurosawa, the top student in our grade!" one of the other swim team members said.   
  
Another one then snickered. "I think she's offering to help tutor you, Kanan. You should take it! Aren't your grades are pretty dismal?" The others laughed.    
  
"Hey, they're not _that_  bad," Kanan whined, causing another round of laughter. Dia, however, wanted to scream on the inside.  
  
She meant to ask Kanan out on a date, but she should've known that "studying together" wasn't a jock's idea of a date. She should've just asked to go to an arcade, or a movie, or dinner. Any one of those stereotypical first dates you see in movies would've done. Dia berated herself for not thinking things through, and wasn't thinking supposed to be her strong suit? Her face burned with embarrassment.   
  
"Hey wait! Where are you going?" Kanan call after her as Dia ran away, unable to bear it any longer.   
  
The second time Dia tried asking, a few days later, she tried to make sure she wouldn't be misunderstood again. It was the same hallway, the same time of day, the same group of Kanan's friends.   
  
"Matsuura-san, will you go out with me?" she forced out, confident that her meaning was clear this time.   
  
"Ah, you again!" Kanan said, turning towards her. "Of course I will!"  
  
Dia's breath caught in her throat, and it felt like the clouds of heaven had opend up to sing her an opera. Had her confession been accepted, just like that? But then...  
  
"You want to go to the library?" Kanan said as casually as she had "accepted" Dia's confession. "By the way, I really appreciate you offering to tutor me!"  
  
Dia's hopes crashed and fell from the heavens as quickly as they had risen. Kanan was still confused about last time, still under the misimpression that Dia was asking her to study together. Dia stuttered her next words. "N-no, I m-meant...that was...last time wasn't..." 

Dia's head blanked, and not knowing what else to do, she ran away again.

Dia felt utterly humiliated, which she knew was stupid, because it really wasn't her fault that time, that Kanan had misunderstood. But, in her determination to not be misunderstood again, she realized she needed to be absolutely clear the third time around. 

 _Confess properly! Start with 'I like you.' That way she knows you mean "go out" romantically!_  

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Dia forced herself to return to the present. She stopped a few feet in front of the group, and steeled herself. 

"Kanan Matsuura!" she shouted out, louder than she would've liked, and the group of athletes quickly stopped their bustling activity and became quiet.

"Hey, it's Kurosawa-san again!" 

"She looks kind of angry this time, don't you think?" 

"Kanan, how bad  _are_ your grades?"

"They're not!" Kanan retorted, and the rest of them snickered. 

 _Angry?_  Dia thought, and realized she was so wrapped up in thought that she was frowning, and her eyebrows had furrowed. She quickly stopped herself. This wasn't how she wanted to things to go, and she hadn't even started her confession yet.

"Matsuura-san, I-I-I have something important to tell you, so...p-please listen carefully!" Dia felt her ears starting to warm. As much as she hated it, Mari was right. Whenever she was in the vicinity of Kanan, her brain went to mush and her mouth just would not work. But Dia suppressed her embarrasment. She could not afford to blank again. 

"Oh, okay..."

Then one of the other swim team members spoke up abruptly, one with short, ash-brown hair and clear blue eyes.

"Waaait, I think I know what's going on here," she said with a giggle. "C'mon girls, let's get to practice. Kanan will catch up with us afterwards." 

"Wait, You!" Kanan said, dumbfounded. "What's going on?"

"You'll see!" she called back, already heading off with the rest of the group. She gave Kanan a salute. "Full speed ahead, Kanan! Good luck!" And then they were gone.

With just the two of them now, Dia felt the atmosphere of a confession suddenly bearing down on her with even greater force. She felt like she was wading through syrup, and she could barely breathe. 

"So...what's this important thing you need to tell me?" Kanan asked. And she didn't have her hands in her pockets. In fact, she was taking everything quite seriously, an obvious concern in her voice and in her eyes. And somehow, the fact that Kanan had realized the weight of the situation made Dia feel better, made her feel like her feelings might reach her this time. So she gathered up her courage and forced out the words she had practiced.

"I like you!" Dia said, her voice trembling just the slightest, but now that she had said the important part, the rest was easier. "Will you go out with me?" 

With the words finally said, Dia felt like a great weight had lifted off of her. But now a different kind of nervousness was settling in, that of waiting for Kanan's response. She suddenly realized that she really  _did_ care whether Kanan rejected her or not. And with each passing second, Dia grew more and more anxious. 

 _I'm bothering her, aren't I?_ Dia thought. Springing an unexpected confession like this, when they barely even knew each other except from a few classes they shared together, that'll definitely make someone feel awkward, right? And what reason did Kanan have for accepting her confession anyway? Again, they were barely friends...and there were those two other times when Dia made a fool of herself and then just ran away. That'd weird anyone out, right?

Dia wailed internally. Again, she didn't think things through. She should've tried to become friends with Kanan first, although she didn't know how great of a chance she had at that either, given their different lifestyles. 

Suddenly Dia was snapped from her trance by the sound of laughter. Kanan's laughter. Was she laughing at her?

"Wait wait wait, I think...I finally got it," Kanan said in short breaths, all the while holding her stomach. "Was this...what you wanted...to tell me...those other times too?"

Dia turned a new shade of red, and she could only let out a tiny squeak. "Yes..." This set Kanan off on another round of laughter, and while part of Dia wanted to shrivel up and hide herself in her room for the next couple of days, she was only glad that Kanan hadn't reacted negatively...yet.

"You're pretty cute, y'know," Kanan said while wiping her eyes. "Usually you have this cold and collected air about you in class, but you're surprisingly clumsy, especially when it comes to this kind of thing. It's kinda adorable." 

Dia pouted a bit, not sure if she was being complimented or not. "What does that mean?" 

"It means," Kanan let out a final huff to dispel the last of her laughter. "Yeah, I'll go out with you." 

Dia suddenly felt like her feet had lifted several inches off the ground. "Really? You mean it?" 

"Yeah!" Kanan said with her blindingly bright smile that set Dia's heart off miles an hour. "I don't know you that well, but I've always wanted to get closer to you." 

"Then, then..." Dia didn't know what to say back, and she realized again just how little she had thought this through, how unprepared she was. She didn't even think about what to do if her confession was accepted. 

Kanan then looked at a clock hung on the wall of the hallway, and her eyes widened. "Oh! Um, I gotta get to practice or the coach will kill me!" 

"Ah, wait-!" Dia tried to say, but Kanan was already starting to do a little jog in place. 

"We can talk more later!" Kanan reassured her. "If you don't mind waiting till after club activities, maybe then?"

Dia paused, then nodded emphatically.

"Ok, see you then! Let's go on a date soon, eh? Maybe at the library." And with a wink, Kanan was off and running. 

Dia flushed for the fourth time that day, watching intently as Kanan left. When her long, blue hair finally disappeared around another corner, Dia barely managed to keep her legs from giving way beneath her. The last couple minute's events ran through her head over and over. She had managed to ask her crush out, her crush had said yes, and now they might be going on a library date after club activities. 

 _Wait a minute_ , Dia's mind screeched to a halt. A date so soon? Frantically, she fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. 

Despite all her acadamic ability, none of it had helped her when it came to confessing. In the end, perhaps that should have been obvious. But Dia had always succeeded at everything she put her mind to, so to find herself suddenly at a loss for what to do was an unfamiliar experience. She had only just managed to confess, and now she was already going on a date? There was no way she was going to risk messing that up. 

When the other end finally picked up, Dia didn't even wait to exchange a greeting. "Mari-san? I need your help." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, Jax, I love your AU! I wanted to write something for it, and thought wouldn't it be a great spin if Dia was the one who was pursuing Kanan? (ok, I just really like a flustered Dia haha...) I took some other liberties with your AU, but I hope you enjoy!


End file.
